


Plants and Animals

by CinnamonStyx



Category: Animal Man, DCU, Harley Quinn (Comics), Poison Ivy (Comics)
Genre: Action/Adventure, California, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Rare Characters, Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-11 21:59:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17455025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinnamonStyx/pseuds/CinnamonStyx
Summary: Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have fled Gotham City and gone to San Diego. While Harley's having a good time, Ivy not so much. In fact, she's quickly becoming a threat to the city. But what neither of them expected was having to deal with a man called Buddy Baker. Better known by the name of Animal Man.





	1. California, Here We Come

**Author's Note:**

> I first posted this story on FF.net, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have a fanfiction writing account on multiple sites. Anyway, I wanted to write an Animal Man story and also wanted to write a story about Poison Ivy so I combined both my ideas into one.

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn were in very different moods as they drove down the highway with the sun setting in front of them. Their postures were enough of an indication. While Poison Ivy had sunk down into the passenger seat of their convertible Harley had sat up straight and was fixedly staring at the road ahead with a big smile.

It had been a week and a half since the two villainesses fled Gotham City. After a very long, exhausting battle with multiple members of the Batfamily Harley had convinced Ivy that the two of them needed a holiday. Mostly to evade the law, but on Harley's part it was just for kicks. From there, Harley and Ivy began a cross country road trip that had led them to southern California.

Both of them had liked the journey across the country at first. The lack of a Batman chasing after them was one thing that they enjoyed the most. But after many, many weeks, especially with Harley absolutely determined to make it to the West Coast, Ivy had become disillusioned.

Every stretch of highway, every gas station they stopped at, and every enormous truck they passed reminded her of what humankind had done to her beautiful planet. Harley's overblown excitement about their supposed vacation never seemed to fade.

At the moment their moods were almost completely inverse of each other. The air irritated Ivy's skin as the convertible drove down the highway, the music on the radio was loud enough to hurt her ears, and the evening sun shone directly into her eyes. Harley, on the other hand, loved the feeling of the wind in her hair, happily sang along to the radio, and liked how the sun lit up the freeway.

" _I know, it's up, for me. If you steal my sunshine._ " Harley continued to sing along with the radio. " _Making sure I'm not in too deep. If you steal my sunshine_."

Ivy decided to voice her annoyance at the music.

"Hey, Harl, mind turning down the noise?" Ivy didn't bother looking up at the woman next to her as she spoke.

"Sure thing, Red." Harley turned the volume dial on the dashboard. "Anything else I can do for ya?"

Although Ivy wasn't sure how serious Harley was at the second comment she decided to make some more requests. "Could you pop the roof back up?"

"Aww, but don'cha just love the sun on yer skin?" Harley asked. "'Specially since yer part plant 'n all."

"That's true, but I want to take a nap."

"Ya sure? I feel fulla energy."

"That's because you slept for most of the day while I drove. And right now, I need a nap." Ivy paused for a moment and considered their current state. "Maybe a shower too."

"Tell ya what, I keep the top down and I'll stop at the next hotel I see."

"Fine. Let's hope this one has a working sink."

"You'll feel less grumpy after ya lie down. Don'cha just feel so free out here on the road?"

"Whatever you say, Harley."

As they continued down the freeway, Ivy noticed a sign on the roadside that read "San Diego" below was text that would've told her how many more miles until they reached the city but she became distracted by some discarded aluminum cans lining the side of the highway. She changed her focus to the road ahead but was instead treated to a view of the flattened remains of some small animal.

"Humans were never meant to travel this fast." Ivy muttered as she looked down at the floor of the car.

"What was that, Red?"

"Don't worry about it."

 

Animal Man flew over the familiar San Diego suburb he resided in. Most people don't appreciate the number of birds in the city the way Animal Man did. There were enough for him to absorb their flight powers wherever he went and this was a fact he often took advantage of.

Buddy Baker hadn't actually done much superhero work as "Animal Man" recently. San Diego was a quiet city compared to Metropolis or Keystone City and his work as an animal activist had taken a momentary lull. But Buddy still used his powers for his own amusement sometimes.

On this night, he'd just spent a good amount of time flying around above the neighborhood and had just located his house again. Buddy flew down to the doorstep of his home and pushed through the front door.

"Ellen, kids, I'm home!" Buddy called out as he removed the jacket he wore over his spandex and hung it up on the hatstand in the foyer.

"I'm in the dining room!" Buddy recognized the voice as belonging to his wife Ellen. He followed the voice into the dining room where he saw Ellen seated at a table while she drew something on a piece of scrap paper. "You enjoy your nightly flying, Buddy?"

"Yep, never gets old." Buddy sat down across from his wife. "Where're the kids?"

"Cliff's playing video games up in his room and Maxine's watching cartoons over in the living room." Ellen said. "I figured I'd let them stay up late tonight, it's a Friday after all."

"Oh yeah, it is." Buddy removed the goggles from his Animal Man costume. "We were talking about doing something as a family tomorrow, weren't we? Did we ever decide on anything."

"Well, both of them seemed really excited about going to the zoo." Ellen had stopped drawing at this point to engage Buddy in full conversation. "But I told them I'd ask you first. I know how you are about your animals."

"I'm conflicted about zoos." Buddy remarked. "I don't think it's right to keep these animals out of their natural habitat. Not to mention the last time I was at the zoo was when B'wana Beast went berserk. But if the zoo's humane I don't see too much of a problem."

"So is that a yes or a no to taking the kids out there?"

"If it's what the kids want, then I'm fine with it."

"I'm sure they'll be glad to hear it, Buddy."

"Speaking of which, I'd better go say hi to them. I'll talk to you again in a bit, Ellen."

Buddy got back up from the table and followed the muffled noises of people talking and the occasional sound effect into the living room. Like Ellen had said, his daughter Maxine was attention was directed at the television. On the TV was a cartoon. Something with talking animals in it that Buddy didn't quite recognize.

"Hey there Maxine, I'm home."

Maxine looked up from her cartoon at her father. "Hi daddy. What'd you do while you were gone?"

"Just flew around for a bit." Buddy sat down next to his daughter.

"Wow, cool. You think you could ever take me flying one day?"

"Maybe." Buddy laughed to himself a little. "As long as you don't mind me keeping us really close to the ground."

"Aww, but the fun stuff's real far up."

"Well, I've got something that makes up for that. How'd you like to go to the zoo tomorrow?"

Maxine's face lit up with excitement. "We're really going? Can we see the monkeys? I hear they got super cute chimpanzees there."

"We can visit the primate house."

"Thanks daddy. I hope Cliff doesn't make us look at all the creepy animals."

"There are no creepy animals, Maxine."

"He told me spiders crawl into your mouth while your asleep."

"Well, that's just Cliff trying to mess with you. Don't worry about it. Speaking of your brother I'd better go say hi to him."

"Tell him to stop saying stuff about spiders to me."

"Whatever you say."

Buddy got back up from the couch and Maxine's attention was turned back to her cartoon once again. He went up the stairs to his house and made his way to Cliff's room. It was easy for him to find. The door was always open with none of the lights on inside except the light of the computer screen. Buddy stepped into the room and saw his son Cliff sitting at a desk and using the computer. He was in the middle of playing some video game that seemed to involve shooting at aliens. Buddy briefly pondered what someone like Martian Manhunter would've thought of the game but soon remembered why he came upstairs.

He flicked on the lights to get Cliff's attention. "Hey Cliff, I'm back."

The images on the computer screen paused and Cliff looked over at his father. "Oh hey there dad, what's up?"

"Thought I'd check in on you before I started getting ready for bed." Buddy searched for something else to talk to his son about. "That reminds me, don't stay up so late playing your game again."

"Aww but dad, it's a Friday." Cliff whined.

"I know, but me and your mom have a family day planned. We're taking you and Maxine to the zoo."

"Cool, really? They got a building in there full of awesome insects. And another one with snakes." Cliff got increasingly more enthusiastic as he talked.

"Your sister said she didn't want you showing her anything 'Creepy'."

"Fine, Maxine can miss all the cool stuff. I'm still gonna see the bugs and lizards."

"We can talk more about it tomorrow. I'm guessing you wanna get back to you game."

"How can you tell?"

"You keep looking back at the screen. Anyway, we'll all talk about this over breakfast tomorrow. G'night, Cliff."

Buddy switched the lights back off and left the room. As soon as he left he saw Ellen coming up the stairs.

"Kids both seem to like going to the zoo." Buddy said.

"That's good. I just sent Maxine up to go get into her pyjamas and I'm gonna get changed too." Ellen stopped at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, I'd better get out of this spandex too." Buddy looked down at his orange and blue uniform. "Maybe wash up real quick too."

"I'll see you in bed." Ellen walked away from her husband and over to her bedroom.

"Good night, Ellen."

"Good night, Buddy. See you in the morning." Ellen disappeared into the bedroom.

Buddy pulled the rest of his costume's mask down from his face and made his way over to the bathroom. Thoughts of the day ahead buzzed through his brain.

 

When morning came, Harley Quinn was woken by the sound of running water. Her and Ivy had entered San Diego late at night they'd spent the night at a hotel that Harley judged as "Cheap enough". The rate to sleep there was low but that meant putting up with lumpy mattresses and broken lamps. But after hours on end on the open road it was a welcoming place.

Harley looked around the room and saw no sign of Poison Ivy. She yawned and stared off at the ceiling.

"What time is it?"

A glance at the alarm clock on the end table next to her revealed the time to be seven forty. Harley judged it to be early enough to lie in bed for a little while longer. The only sound Harley heard for the next couple minutes was the running water that had woken her up. Deciding she had nothing better to do, Harley pushed the blankets off of her and got up from bed. She followed the sound of the water which got louder the closer she went to the bathroom. Pushing through the door, Harley walked through a cloud of steam and saw the shower curtain completely pulled shut.

"Hey Red, has this place got hot water?" asked Harley.

The first response Harley received was a sudden shriek of surprise. "Harley! What have I told you about needing my privacy."

"But there's nobody to talk to outside and I'm bored. You can talk 'n shower at the same time, can'cha?"

"I can, but I'd rather you wait until I'm not so busy."

"If the problem's that ya can't see me then I can get in there with ya." Harley reached for the waistband of the pants she'd gone to sleep in.

"What? No, don't do that!"

"Don't act like yer Ms. Modesty all of a sudden. Lemme in there, please? It'll save water, won't it? And ain't ya all about savin' the environment?"

The water in the shower stopped running and the shower curtain moved back slightly. Ivy stuck her head out through the opening. She stared down Harley for a couple of moments as water dripped off her face and onto the tiles. Her expression seemed irritated but also like she didn't want to hurt Harley's feelings.

"Harl, I like you, I really do. But please just give me some alone time. Watch TV if you're bored, okay?"

"Sure thing, Red. Whateva makes you happy." Harley beamed at Ivy. "Buh-bye."

Harley backed herself out of the bathroom and the water started up once again. Once she was out of the bathroom Harley flopped over onto the bed and tried to remember where the television remote was.

The next ten minutes were spent flipping through the channels on the hotel television trying to find something fun to watch. After not finding any comedies or cartoons Harley settled on watching the commercials. The sound of the shower stopped eventually and Poison Ivy left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.

"Shower's all yours, Harl." Ivy sat down on the hotel room's second bed.

"I showered last night, let's just talk." Harley turned off the TV and looked over at Ivy.

"About what?"

"We're in San Diego, ain't we? I was thinkin' we could have some fun in the sun."

"Harl, we're known super-criminals."

"In Gothan. 'Round here, people won't recognize us. C'mon Red, please. I wanna have some fun." Harley reached across the gap between the beds and put her hands on Ivy's knees. "You'll love it, trust me."

"What can we even do here?"

"Well, last night I talked with the lady at the desk here 'bout what they got in this town and she mentioned a zoo. Don't that sound fun? I bet they got cute little pandas in there."

Ivy's eyes narrowed and her lips formed a grimace at the mention of the zoo. "I don't think I'd like to spend time at a place that imprisons nature's creatures for other people's enjoyment. How would you like it if you were put on display for other people to gawk at? Like some kind of freak. The animals deserve better, Harley."

"Aww… I'm sorry… Don't wanna make ya angry, Red…" Harley lay back on the bed. "Mista J was right… I shouldn't try ta do what I want."

The expression on Ivy's face became one of frustration. "Don't compare me to him…"

"I ain't comparin' ya. Just thinkin' 'bout him. Puddin' didn't like it when I came up with ideas."

Ivy was unsure of the guilt trip was intentional or not on Harley's part but decided to cave in regardless. "Harley, if it makes you happy, I'll go to the zoo with you."

Harley stood up from the bed and hurried over to Ivy where she pulled the plant-woman into a tight hug. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! Pam, I swear, ya ain't gonna regret this."

"Yeah, it'll be fine." Ivy told herself this but wasn't sure how much she believed it. "Let's go find something casual to wear."

 

The Baker family had eaten an early lunch at home and arrived at the zoo just a little before noon. Both kids in the family were overflowing with enthusiasm. As soon as they passed the ticket stands Ellen brought the rest of her family over to a large map of the zoo by the entrance.

"So, where do you all wanna go first?" Ellen asked.

"I wanna see the cute little animals." Maxine pointed to an area on the map with the silhouette of a seal on it. "Like seals and monkeys."

"Pfft, boring. Let's go look at the cool stuff." Cliff motioned to an outline of a snake. "Y'know, bugs, snakes, gators."

"Well there's an easy solution." Buddy looked down at his kids. "One of you goes with your mother and the other goes with me."

"Awesome." Cliff looked up at Ellen. "C'mon mom, let's go find the lizards and bugs."

"All right, take it easy Cliff. We'll have enough time to see everything." Ellen and Cliff walked away from the sign together. Before she went too far away, Ellen looked back at her husband and her daughter. "Buddy, Maxine, let's meet back here at four o'clock!"

"Okay Ellen, you and Cliff have fun!" Buddy called out to his wife and his son. He looked down at his daughter. "So Maxine, where do you wanna go first."

"I wanna see the monkeys!" Maxine cheered.

"Well follow me then, we've got a whole day ahead of us."

Buddy took a smaller map from a pouch attached to the larger sign and put it in the tote bag he was carrying with him. Maxine and Buddy walked away from the sign and further into the zoo. Everyone in the Baker family was optimistic about the day ahead. Unaware that others at the zoo weren't exactly the friendly type.

 

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy had been wandering around the zoo for about five minutes with no real aim in mind. Occasionally Harley would run up to a random animal enclosure and stare for a while. Poison Ivy was far less ecstatic about the zoo. She didn't bother looking at the animals but seeing Harley this excited made Ivy warm up a bit on the inside.

"Oh, oh, Red they got crocodiles over here. Let's check 'em out!" Harley grabbed Ivy by her forearm and led her over to another habitat.

The two of them leaned over the railing and looked at the enclosure below them. It was a large pond with some small sandy islands and land areas by the edges.

"Y'know me 'n Mista J dangled one 'a Batsy's Bird Boys over a tank of crocs once." Harley said conversationally. "Kid got himself outta there though, real smart guy."

Ivy didn't respond to Harley's anecdote. Instead her vision honed in on something shiny on the ground of the crocodile habitat. She leaned in further over the railing and got a clear view of what it was. It was a small bag. Probably used to contain potato chips from the look of it. She would've stared at it longer but then she became aware of Harley trying to talk to her.

"Pam? Pammy? Can ya hear me?"

"What's that, Harl?" Ivy looked up at Harley.

"You were spacin' out big time. Ya feelin' okay?" Harley placed a hand on Ivy's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner. "Ya look down in the dumps. I don't like it when yer feelin' down, Red."

"I think I want to go back to Gotham." Ivy looked at Harley. "This- This- Whatever this spontaneous road trip is, I don't like it."

"I thought we were havin' fun."

"It's just, all this distance we've gone, all these buildings, the freeway. Do you have any idea how much of it used to be nature? Every town we passed through was beautiful wilderness for hundreds of years. Back when humankind knew their place." by this point Poison Ivy wasn't talking to Harley anymore. She was venting to the world in general. "All these animals don't belong in some cage in California. Their ancestors lived in the wild where they belong. I haven't hated humans this much in a long time."

Harley bit her lip and looked at Ivy with some concern. She'd grown so close with the other woman that it was hard to remember she was also an unstable misanthrope sometimes. "Red, that's all crazy talk. I'm a human, yer still at least part human. Don't go all nutso on me, okay?"

"It's so hard not to hate the human race for what it's done."

"Y'know what always makes me happy? Cotton candy. I'm gonna go see if this place's got any cotton candy. I'll pick some up for the both of us. Will that make ya feel better?"

"Maybe."

It was just one word but it made Harley smile. "Don't worry, yer gonna feel better in no time. I'll get'cha the biggest thing of cotton candy you've ever seen."

"Thanks. Meet me over in the reptile pavilion, okay."

Harley nodded and turned away from Ivy. She walked off in search of sugary snacks. When she was gone Ivy tried to convince herself that Harley had been right about her not really hating humans. But she wasn't quite able to believe the words she thought.

After casting one more look down at the discarded bag in the crocodile enclosure Poison Ivy decided to go find the reptile house.


	2. Lessons In Botany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poison Ivy's plants start taking over the zoo and it's up to Animal Man to stop it while Harley makes it her job to stop Animal Man.

Buddy and Maxine had spent quite a while walking around the zoo. Although their goal was to get to the primate house, Maxine was still very young and therefore very easily distracted. Every time they passed the enclosure of an animal that looked interesting she stopped by there. She always had questions for her father about the animal and if he'd ever used his powers on that particular creature.

But eventually, they made it to the primate house. The first of the habits in there Maxine was drawn to was the one that housed the orangutans.

"Wow, they've got super long arms." Maxine observed a group of orangutans behind the glass. "Hey daddy, what powers you think you'd get from them?"

"Maybe agility." Buddy looked at the apes carefully. "These guys can climb like crazy."

"You ever try it before?" Maxine glanced back up at her father.

"No, but I've gotten gorilla powers a few times." Buddy replied.

"I know, you told me." Maxine put her attention back on the orangutans. "Wonder if I can make them get closer." she leaned in closer to the enclosure's glass and tapped on it a few times. "Hey monkeys, over here. My name's Maxine."

"Hold on, hold on, don't do that." Buddy cautioned.

"Why?" Maxine stopped knocking at the glass after the warning.

"It'll frighten the animals." Buddy gestured at the creatures behind the glass.

"But that lady over there's doing it too."

"What lady?"

"Right there." Maxine pointed over to a woman behind them near an enclosure dedicated to some gibbons.

The woman looked to be about Buddy's age, maybe a little younger, and had her hair tied up in pigtails like Maxine sometimes did. In one hand the woman held two big cones of cotton candy, one of which had already been partially eaten, and the other tapped on the glass of the gibbon habitat. If Buddy had been better versed in known super-criminals from around the country he maybe would have recognized the woman as Harley Quinn. Although her casual state of dress might have still thrown him off.

Regardless of her identity, Buddy approached Harley with Maxine right behind him.

"Excuse me, miss, I need you to stop doing that?"

Harley didn't look back at Buddy and kept tapping the glass. "Doin' what?"

"Tapping the glass like that, the animals don't like it." Buddy spoke to her in the same tone he'd talk to one of his children in if he was upset with them. "Honestly, I can't believe I have to tell this to a grown woman."

Harley stopped knocking at the glass and glanced at Buddy for a moment.

"Ya don't look like ya work here, so I don't gotta listen to you." Harley took a bite out of one of the cotton candies. She tapped on the glass again, mostly out of spite at this point.

"Some people just think they can do whatever they want to animals. It's a real shame." Buddy disapprovingly crossed his arms.

"Jeez, yer startin' to sound like- Uh oh, I was s'posed to get back to her." Harley said, to herself more than anyone else. She took another bite of cotton candy and pried herself away from the gibbon enclosure.

Buddy and Maxine watched Harley as she exited the primate house. Maxine commented on the encounter once Harley was out of earshot. "She was kinda weird."

"Some people just don't respect animals." Buddy said.

"I do." Maxine beamed up at her father.

"I know you do." Buddy put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's look around some more."

"Ooh, let's find the chimpanzees."

Cliff and Ellen had finally found the reptile house after a few detours. Including buying Cliff an ice cream sandwich he'd been craving. But they had arrived at the reptile house and Cliff was already almost pressing his face against the enclosure of a python.

"Wow… Look at that thing, mom." Cliff leaned in closer to the snake. "What do you think it eats."

"There's a little information plaque right here. Maybe it says." Ellen pointed to a small sign attached the railing.

"Oh, cool." Cliff looked over at the plaque. As he read the sign, he finished eating the ice cream sandwich he'd bought earlier. While he continued to look at the sign he absentmindedly dropped the ice cream sandwich wrapper to the floor. "Hey mom, says here pythons eat-"

"Hey, kid! Pick up your trash!"

Ellen and Cliff looked behind them and saw a woman approaching them. The striking combination of bright red hair and a strange light green tint to her skin made the woman stand out. Cliff and Ellen were unable to recognize her as Poison Ivy but even in her civilian clothes, they felt something off about her.

"Excuse me, were you talking to my son?" Ellen looked Poison Ivy in the eye.

"He dropped some trash on the ground." Ivy motioned towards the discarded wrapper.

"Mom, what's wrong with her skin?" Cliff whispered to his mother.

"She was probably born with a skin condition, Cliff. And don't stare, it's rude." Ellen looked back at Ivy and raised her voice to a normal speaking tone. "Look, miss, I was going to tell him to pick it up. Don't talk to my son that way."

"I'm sick of it. Sick of you people thinking you can just do whatever they want to nature." Ivy was once again ranting to herself rather than the people around her. "These animals belong in the wilderness, not in glass cages."

"Come on Cliff, let's get out of here." Ellen picked up the ice cream sandwich wrapper and ushered Cliff away from Poison Ivy.

The two of them walked farther into the reptile house. Once he was sure that the woman they countered was far away Cliff decided to ask Ellen about what had happened. "Mom, what was up with that lady?"

"I don't know, Cliff. Some people are just aggressive like her."

"You think she's mad that she was born with green skin?"

"Let's not talk about it right now. We're not going to be seeing her again, okay. Just enjoy the zoo."

"Alright, mom. Let's go find some more cool snakes."

After her encounter with the Baker family Poison Ivy rushed herself out of the reptile pavilion and into the nearest public restroom she could find. Judging the room to be empty, Ivy went to a sink and turned on the cold water. She splashed some of the water on her face and looked at herself in the slightly grimy mirror.

"Keep it together, Pamela." Ivy intensely stared down her own reflection. "Harley wouldn't want this…"

She kept looking at herself in the mirror for at least another half a minute. "But I have things I want too… This zoo doesn't belong here… None of it does. It has to be reclaimed by nature..."

Ivy willed herself detect as much plant life as she could within the confines of the zoo. She hadn't used her powers all that much since fleeing Gotham and it felt good to bring herself in contact with nature again. All the plants she was able to detect felt like an extension of herself or an extra arm. It was an overpowering sensation to be in connection with this much nature all at once.

"I'm sorry about this, Harley." Ivy said to herself. "I just can't take it anymore."

Ivy felt all the plant life around her and willed it to start growing.

Within the primate house, Maxine and Buddy had moved on to an enclosure of gorillas. There were four gorillas out when they went to the habitat. Three were climbing what resembled a more complex version of what you'd see children climb at a playground. The fourth ape had moved closer to the glass and sat down several feet away from Maxine and Buddy.

"Wow, it's so close to us." Maxine pressed her face to the glass in awe. "You think it can tell you have those animal powers, dad?"

"I don't know." Buddy leaned in closer to the glass as well. "I definitely feel connected to the animals, but I don't know if they feel it the other way around. Maybe this gorilla can feel it. Apes are closely related to humans after all."

Something in the back of the gorilla enclosure caught Maxine's eye. "Daddy what's that back there?" Maxine pointed past the structure in the middle of the enclosure to the back wall. There appeared to be small vines creeping up the walls.

Buddy didn't know what was wrong but his protective instincts kicked in. "Maxine! Get away from the glass!"

Maxine was grabbed by the shoulders and guided away from the gorilla enclosure by Buddy. This turned out to be a good thing when more small vines crawled over the glass. The vines started applying pressure against the glass until it burst.

"D-daddy? What's happening?" Maxine's voice trembled.

Buddy looked around and saw that plants all over the primate house were moving and crawling onto any surface they could. The resulting screams of panic and confusion from both the people and animals created a disorienting cacophony. "I don't know, Maxine. Let's find Cliff and Ellen and get out of here."

Maxine and Buddy were among the many civilians that fled the primate house as the plants took it over. Once they were outside it looked as if the plants all over the zoo were growing and moving at the same rate. Both Maxine and Buddy stopped and stared at what was quickly becoming a chaotic environment.

"Maxine, it looks like I might be taking you flying sooner than I thought." Buddy held out a hand of his daughter. "Hold on to me tight, okay."

"Okay daddy." Maxine grabbed on to Buddy's hand.

Buddy picked up his daughter and held her close. He counted himself lucky that she was still pretty small. Tapping into his powers, Buddy felt the presence of some birds overhead and absorbed their ability to fly. "Don't worry Maxine, I won't let you go. Now let's go find your mother and your brother."

Maxine shut her eyes as she felt Buddy lift off from the ground and the wind begin to hit her face. "This is a lot scarier than I imagined… Are we far up?"

"Not too far. We shouldn't be up here too long."

She opened her eyes and saw the zoo below her. They weren't far up, maybe at the same height as the second story of her house but it still frightened her a little. From this high up, it really was clear how much the plants had grown.

"I think I see Ellen and Cliff. I'm bringing us down."

Buddy got closer to the ground and two orange haired figures on the ground stopped running with the rest of the people after noticing him. He landed in front of Cliff and Ellen and Maxine lowered herself back to the ground.

"Maxine, Buddy, thank god you're safe." Ellen let out a sigh of relief.

"Mommy!" Maxine ran over to her mother and hugged her leg.

"Dad, do you know what's going on?" Cliff asked.

"Not yet. But I'm going to figure it out." Buddy turned his attention from Cliff up to Ellen. "I packed my Animal Man costume with me. You get out of here with the kids and I'll get to the bottom of whatever's causing this."

"Oh, dad, me and mom saw this weird lady with green skin." Cliff said. "Maybe keep an eye out for her."

"Thanks for the advice, Cliff. Now all of you need to get out of here before you get hurt." Buddy pointed down the path out of the zoo.

"We'll get home safe Buddy, don't worry." Ellen said. "Please be safe, I love you."

"I love you too Ellen."

Ellen took Maxine and Cliff by their hands. "Come on kids, let's get out of here."

The three Bakers turned away from Buddy and ran away in the same direction that other civilians had previously fled. Buddy stood in the middle of the plant infested zoo. His eyes darted around in search of a sensible place to get changed. They stopped on a sign that read "Bathroom" with an arrow below it.

"Here we go." Buddy ran off in the direction the sign pointed.

Unbeknownst to the Baker family, their interaction had been watched by somebody. A mentally unbalanced somebody who wore their hair in pigtails.

Harley Quinn hadn't quite known what to do when the plants started growing. She knew who caused it and probably why it happened too but didn't quite know what to do in response.

Her first instinct was to get herself back to Poison Ivy but she became distracted by something else. A man who could fly. It wasn't an unusual sight, there were plenty of people who were able to do that and much more. But Harley realized a guy who could fly was probably a superhero. A superhero spelled bad news for her and Ivy.

So Harley abandoned her search for Ivy and began following the flying man. She followed him from below for a couple minutes but when she noticed him coming in for a landing. Harley ducked around the corner to observe the man from afar. He saw him talking with a woman and two children that she assumed he was family with. As she watched, Harley recognized the man and little girl from an earlier encounter at the primate house.

Harley didn't have much more time to dwell on this fact when the rest of the man's family split off from him, presumably to the nearest exit. The man ran in the opposite direction after several moments of standing still and Harley ran after him from a distance.

The man rushed into a nearby bathroom after being followed for about half a minute. Harley was confused by this course of action but decided to use the element of surprise on the potential superhero. She crept closer to the bathroom and pushed open the door. Most people would have put together an attack plan by now but Harley was a fan of improv.

The restroom appeared to be empty at first but Harley was quick to notice that only one of the stall doors was opened.

"There ya are…" Harley whispered to herself.

Harley walked farther into the restroom and up to the one closed stall. She saw a pair of feet in blue boots from under the stall door but whoever was there didn't seem to notice her. Bringing her leg up, Harley kicked the stall door. The lock broke and the door swung inwards.

The man she'd followed had changed into orange and blue spandex and a leather jacket. The two stared at each other for a moment but Harley spoke first. "Little early for Halloween, ain't it? Who're you 'sposed to be."

"The name's Animal Man." Buddy said. "And if you need to use the bathroom, try somewhere that isn't infested with plants."

Buddy, now fully transformed into his Animal Man costume, hung a tote bag he had with him up on the stall's coat hanger and tried to exit. But as soon as he walked past Harley he felt her grab on to her shoulder.

"Oh no ya don't. Ya see, the dame who's doin' all this plant stuff, me 'n her are tight." Harley strengthened her grip on Animal Man's shoulder. "So I can't exactly let ya get ta her."

"The kicking the door in probably should've let me know you were a supervillain..." Animal Man mumbled to himself in embarrassed realization.

"Yep. Now let's make this fight nice 'n quick." Harley drove her fist into the back of Animal Man's head causing the hero to trip over and land face first on the tiled floor.

"I'm a lot tougher than you might think…" Animal Man rubbed the back of his head and stood up again. "Now what animals can I use?"

Harley ran towards Animal Man with a fist raised. Buddy detected the presence of an elephant somewhere outside and absorbed their powers. Once Harley reached him, Animal Man countered her attempt to strike him by punching her in the shoulder. The blow caused Harley to be knocked across the room until she was stopped by a wall.

"No way… No way yer that strong..." Harley gaped up at Buddy in disbelief.

"That's elephant strength for you." Animal Man calmly turned around and began walking away. "Listen, I don't know who you are but I've got bigger things to take care of right now. I'll let the police handle you."

Harley brought herself back up from the ground as Animal Man continued to make his way out of the bathroom. She ran forward towards the superhero and took a leap forward when she judged herself as close enough. Animal Man felt Harley's arms wrap around him and was tackled to the ground.

"Ya don't wanna underestimate me, pal!" Harley tightened her arms around him.

"You realize you've got your arms around a guy with super strength who can fly."

"Aw, nuts…"

Animal Man began to fly. He flew in a staggered zig-zag pattern around the bathroom for a couple seconds and, with his arms outstretched in front of him, up into the roof. The strength he absorbed allowed him to break through the ceiling. As he shot up into the air he realized that Harley Quinn had yet to let go.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that." Animal Man said. "Let's see if I can shake you off."

Buddy resumed the zig-zag formation of flight as he got closer to the ground. Harley's lost her grip on Animal Man and she was flung off of him. She found the ground to be approaching quickly and clamped her eyes shut in preparation for the inevitable impact. To Harley's surprise, her fall ended up being cushioned ever so slightly by a tree.

She was tangled up in the branches and ended up dangling upside down, a few feet above a pathway. Harley took in everything that had just happened and tried to come up with a plan for what to do next. Her mind wandered to the woman and two kids he saw Animal Man talking to before he went to get changed.

"So… A-Man ain't gonna take 'lil old me seriously?" Harley said to herself. "Well, maybe I should give 'em a good reason to…"

As the sights of the plant overrun zoo passed below him, Animal Man's thoughts were focused on who exactly could be behind this and how exactly the odd woman who attacked him was connected. From above, Buddy noticed that several monkeys were out of their cages and a tiger roamed free in a different spot. He made a mental note to help with containing the animals once the plant situation was taken care of.

He then saw a human standing in the middle of a pathway below him. Animal Man brought himself closer to whoever was down there. As he approached, it appeared that the lone person was watching him intently. Buddy touched down on the same path as the person below him and took a good look at the likely source of the plant problems.

It was a woman that appeared maybe a few years older than him. Much like Cliff had told him, her skin had a green hue to it that was contrasted against long red hair. Animal Man looked her over briefly. She wasn't exactly dressed like most super-criminals he'd seen. But casual attire aside, she seemed to be the most likely culprit in this scenario.

The green woman stared down Animal Man for a moment and then spoke. "So who exactly are you? And do you want me to tell Booster Gold you raided his wardrobe?"

"Name's Animal Man. And I'll have you know I started before that guy." Animal Man tilted his head and looked over the woman again. "So what's your name?"

"You can call me Poison Ivy. I'm used to dealing with Batman and his little crew so some nobody like you should be no problem."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of you. What brings you to San Diego?"

"I'm making this city what every city is meant to be. And I won't let you stop me." Poison Ivy raised a hand above her head and an array of vines shot up from the ground. The plants coiled themselves around Buddy's arms and legs, pulling him down to the concrete path.

"Sorry, but I've still got elephant strength!" Buddy brought his arms down and uprooted the vines that had wrapped those limbs up. He then stood up and took a few steps closer to Ivy, ripping the plants around his legs out of the ground.

"You humans are all the same. No respect for nature. For my babies." Ivy growled.

"Something tells me this is going to be interesting." Animal Man became aware of more plant life creeping towards him and hovered off the ground a little bit. "Well Poison Ivy, it looks like it's time for the plant and animal kingdoms to collide."

"I think we both know who will come out on top here…" Ivy grinned, feeling at her most powerful since she left Gotham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit of a challenge to try to write Harley and Ivy as sympathetic but at the same time still supervillains. Hopefully, I pulled it off okay.


	3. Nature vs. Nurture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poison Ivy and Animal Man fight it out while Harley Quinn goes after the rest of the Baker family.

There had been a few unexpected surprises when the three non-superpowered Bakers tried to escape from the zoo. The first was a bear free from its enclosure that, fortunately for them, seemed rather unaggressive. Throughout the rest of their journey to the parking lot, the Bakers saw a few other escaped animals but did their best to ignore them.

The Bakers eventually reached the zoo's parking lot. The majority of other vehicles had driven away making finding their family car an easy task.

"Don't worry kids, here's our car." Ellen pointed ahead at a lone car in an otherwise empty section of the lot. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Is daddy going to be okay?"

"He always makes it out of stuff like this, Maxine. Don't worry."

Ellen dug into her jeans pocket and fished out her car keys. The family stopped in front of their car and Ellen pressed a button the key fob which unlocked the doors. Cliff and Maxine hurried into the backseat of the vehicle and Ellen prepared to get in herself. But as she opened the door to the driver's side a voice from behind her made its presence known.

"Hey, carrot-top! Leavin' so soon?"

Caught off guard, Ellen looked behind her and saw Harley Quinn running towards her.

"What the…" Ellen stared at Harley as she kept getting closer. "Who is that and what is she doing?"

Ellen got her answer when Harley plowed straight into her and she was smashed into the side of her car.

"You must be A-Man's gal. Pleased to meetcha." Harley casually remarked, keeping Ellen pinned against the car.

"Mom!" Cliff shouted from the inside.

"Hey ya kiddos." Harley noticed Cliff and Maxine. "Me 'n yer mommy are gonna have a little talk."

"S-stay in the car, kids. I'm going to be okay." Ellen did her best to reassure her children.

"C'mon carrot-top, my car's parked just over here." Harley pushed Ellen to the side and she landed on the ground. "I need ta pick up some equipment before I fight Animal Man again."

"Who are you?" Ellen choked out. She felt Harley grab her by the legs and begin dragging her across the asphalt.

"Name's Harley Quinn. I come from outta town. But I guess the accent gave that away."

"I've never heard of you… Are you the one who did this to the zoo?"

"No, that was a friend 'a mine. Didn't want her to, but now I'm just tryna help her out." Harley dragged Ellen over to her car and took her keys out of her pocket. "Here's my ride. Now don'cha go anywhere. I'll only be busy for a minute."

Harley let go of Ellen and left her sprawled out just a few feet away from her car. She popped open the trunk and began to rummage through it. While Harley had her head buried in the trunk, Ellen slowly helped herself up from the ground. Harley didn't notice it as Ellen got closer, staggering a little in her recovery.

"Now where'd I put that thing…" Harley murmured to herself, unaware of Ellen's approach. "How do ya lose a giant hamm-"

Ellen grabbed Harley by the back of the head and shoved her down into the trunk. She then slammed the trunk shut as hard as she could on Harley's back.

"I kicked Mirror Master's ass! I'm not afraid of some nobody like you!" Ellen declared as she held the trunk shut.

Despite her best efforts to keep her trapped, Harley made the trunk spring back open from the inside. This knocked Ellen back a bit and Harley got out of the trunk brandishing an oversized mallet in her hands.

"But I ain't just some nobody, carrot-top." Harley advanced on Ellen. "I'm Harley Quinn!"

Harley swung her hammer around and it smacked Ellen in the face. Just like that, Ellen's lights were out and she collapsed to the ground, motionless. With the one hand that wasn't wielding the mallet, Harley scooped Ellen up from the ground and slung the other woman over her shoulder.

"Now carrot-top, Auntie Harley's gonna go pick up your kids and the four of us are gonna go meet up with A-Man." Harley spoke to Ellen's unconscious body. "Oh! And I might as well get changed while I'm here. We're all gonna have a blast."

 

Within the now plant filled zoo, Buddy Baker was unaware of what had happened his wife. Even if he was aware, he had something preoccupying him. Mostly not being killed by Poison Ivy. Their fighting had led them into the African section of the zoo and another tangled of vines had wrapped itself around Animal Man, attempting to drag him into the lion enclosure. This proved to be no trouble for him when he ripped straight through them as if they were made of paper.

"How many times do I have to remind you about the elephant strength before it sinks in."

"It's called wearing down your opponent." Poison Ivy smirked.

The ground cracked open and more vines shot out. Animal Man absorbed the speed of the nearby lions that he was about to be thrown to and used this new ability to get out of the way. He flew upwards, hoping the vines wouldn't reach him there.

"I don't think that's going to work."

"You'd be surprised." Ivy redirected the vines but Buddy dodged again.

"You know I've got a lot of questions." Animal Man said, perhaps more nonchalantly than he should have. "For starters, why are you doing this?

"The same reason I always do this. To teach the human race a lesson." Ivy sent the vines after Animal Man again. This time one of them wrapped around his leg but he broke away from it. "You pave over lush forests and meadows, use oceans and rivers as your own personal dumping grounds, pollute the atmosphere with excess fumes. I need to put an end to it. One city at a time. Nothing personal against your town though, Animal Man. I just happened to be here when I was in a bad mood."

"Maybe we can talk things out?" Animal Man landed in front of Ivy and took a few steps towards her. "We may have more in common than you might think."

"If that was true then you wouldn't be fighting me. You'd help me on my crusade for a better earth." Ivy said as more vines wrapped around Animal Man. This time he didn't struggle against them.

"Look, I'm on your side. I know, there's a lot of suffering on this planet caused by humans." Animal Man attempted to reason. "And I want to stop it. Once I flew to England just to help sabotage a fox hunt. But what you're doing isn't helping, it's just causing destruction and chaos." for a moment, Buddy thought he was able to reach Ivy but these hopes were dashed when the vines tightened around him.

"Weak! You're a weak man." Ivy scowled at Buddy. "If you had half my backbone you'd be sinking whaling ships or interrupting pipeline construction instead of messing with just one fox hunt."

"I was hoping we could talk things out, but it's starting to look like that isn't an option." Animal Man ripped himself free from the vines again and began to hover a few inches above the ground. "I wish there could be a peaceful way to do this. You don't have a bad reason for what you do."

Ivy sent more vines after him but Animal Man just flew in a straight line forwards at her, the vines missing him. More plants came up from the ground and tried to ensnare Animal Man but he dodged each of them. Animal Man directed himself right into Ivy and started to fly upwards. He put his arms around the midsection of Ivy's body to keep her from falling or escaping.

"Let me go! You don't know who you're dealing with!" Ivy freed one of her arms from Animal Man's grasp and pushed on his face.

"That may be true." Animal Man's flight pattern became slightly erratic but still somewhat stable as his vision was obscured. "But I do know that you can't grow anything if we're up here."

"You're right… But I can still do this!" Ivy used her free hand to grab Animal Man by the back of his head. She leaned in forwards and pushed his head towards hers.

Animal Man struggled against Ivy but this only resulted in her other arm becoming loose and using it to strengthen her hold on his head. Ivy forced Buddy's lips against hers and released some of her internal toxins into his body. Buddy's muscles relaxed and he began fall.

"Oh god… I'm not feeling so good…" Animal Man's words were slightly slurred as the ground below them got closer.

"Maybe I didn't think this plan through very well." Ivy stared at the rapidly approaching ground in fear.

The pair plummeted to the ground within a flamingo enclosure. The water inside the habitat broke their fall and caused the flamingos inside to scatter away from them.

Animal Man and Poison Ivy lay still in the water, both somewhat relieved at surviving the fall and spent the next few moments recovering. Buddy coughed up some water he swallowed during the landing which made him feel better. He also seemed to have spat up some of the toxins in his system as well since at the same time he regained feeling in his muscles. With what little strength he had left, Animal Man brought himself to his feet and took in his surroundings.

He lurched forward over to where Ivy lay in the shallow waters.

"It- It's over, Poison Ivy." Animal Man stared down at her.

"Don't assume I've given up..." Ivy groaned and tried to sit as upright as she could.

It was then that the two of them heard something neither had expected. The sound of Harley Quinn. "Hey Red, A-Man, up here! I've been lookin' all over the place for the two of ya!"

Both Animal Man and Ivy looked up towards the source of the voice. They saw Harley leaning over the railing to the flamingo habitat. Harley had changed clothes since the last time either of them had seen her. Her makeup seemed hastily applied and it appeared as if her costume was put on in with the same haphazard way but the outfit still seemed to scream "Supervillain" much more than what she wore previously. Over one shoulder Harley had her giant mallet and over the other was the still unconscious Ellen. Animal Man then noticed Maxine and Cliff standing next to Harley.

"Now I ain't a haggler but today I've got a trade for you, A-Man." Harley pointed her hammer down at Animal Man.

"Harley, what's going on?" Ivy asked, sounding legitimately confused with the situation.

"Leave my family out of this!" Animal Man shouted up to Harley.

"Don'cha worry, they ain't gonna get hurt. So just listen to me." Harley casually twirled her hammer above her head as she continued to speak. "I got your special lady and your little bundles of joy right here. 'N yer fightin' my special lady right now. So the deal is, as long as ya leave me 'n Pam alone, I'll leave carrot-top and the kiddies alone."

"All right, fine! Just don't hurt them, please!" Animal Man stepped away from Ivy.

"Thank ya very much." Harley gently placed Ellen down, leaning her against the railing. She poked Ellen in the forehead. "Wake up now, missy. Your man's back."

It was then that Harley Quinn and Animal Man traded places. Animal Man carefully climbed up out of the flamingo habitat and over the railing while Harley jumped the railing and landed in the water below.

Buddy's thoughts of the villainesses behind him disappeared and the only thing on his mind became the state of his family. As soon as he climbed all the way out of the enclosure, Buddy was swarmed by his children.

"Daddy, the clown lady was scary!" Maxine clung to her father.

"Dad, is mom gonna be okay?" Cliff tugged at Buddy's jacket with concern.

"Everything will be just fine, kids. Don't worry." Animal Man pulled both his children into a hug. "We're going to get out of here and we'll all be okay."

Ellen slipped back into consciousness and became aware of her surroundings. "B-Buddy, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You're going to be okay." Buddy went over to Ellen and held out a hand. She grabbed on and was helped up to her feet.

"What happened? Where's that woman with the hammer?" Ellen looked around, confused by her surroundings.

"She's still around. But don't worry, I'm going to take care of her." Animal Man said. "You and the kids get to safety, er, again."

"Don't worry, this time we'll get out for good."

"Be safe. You too, kids." Animal Man stood up and looked down into the flamingo habitat. Within it, he saw Harley hugging Poison Ivy and she seemed to be hugging back. For a moment, Buddy reconsidered going in there. At that moment, they didn't seem like ruthless supervillains but regular people. But then he remembered that one of them had turned the zoo into a hazard area and the other had just held Ellen, Cliff, and Maxine hostage. And with that in mind, he jumped over the railing.

Below in the water, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy hadn't noticed Animal Man coming back to them. They were too caught up in their own reunion to pay him much attention. As soon as Ivy got up out of the water she was held in a tight embrace by Harley.

"Oh, it's so good to see ya again, Red! I've been so worried 'bout you! Why'd ya hafta go and turn this place into a jungle?"

"I was in a bad mood. I've been in one for a while actually, but seeing you makes it a little better."

"Daww, thanks." Harley nuzzled her face against Ivy's cheek.

"Not the time for affection, Harls. We need to get out of here before-"

"Hey! Stop right there!"

Harley broke her embrace with Ivy and both women looked to see Animal Man slowly towards them.

"How about you surrender now and make it easy for the both of us?" Buddy enunciated each syllable as clearly as he could with the poison in his body still clouding his brain.

"Ah, beat it A-man. Ya got yer family back, now ya leave Ivy and me alone. That's the deal." Harley dismissively waved her hammer at Animal Man. "Go on, shoo. Red 'n I still got a whole country to tour. I was thinkin' next we go to Vegas."

"You've both put people in danger today." Animal Man stopped a few feet away from Harley and Ivy. "I'm going to stop you."

"But what about our deal?" Harley let out a frustrated whine.

"He doesn't have any reason to listen to it. Unless we make him." Ivy glanced up at where Cliff, Maxine, and Ellen were watching the action. "You see Harley, you've got these great ideas but sometimes you need a little help executing them. And luckily, that's what I'm here for. You distract Blondie here while I make sure his family doesn't go anywhere."

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Animal Man's eyes darted back and forth between the women.

"Don't worry Animal Man, I'll get to you later." Poison Ivy broke into a sudden run, going straight past Buddy and towards the rocks in the enclosure that led to the railing.

"Hey! Get back here!" Buddy turned and started to follow her but was suddenly stopped by blunt force being applied to the back of his head. After several moments with a faceful of water, Animal Man looked up and saw Poison Ivy vaulting over the railing and his family fleeing. "No…"

"Hey A-Man, what's orange and black and blue all over?" Harley calmly walked over to Animal Man and kicked him in the ribs, causing Buddy to flip over as a result. He saw Harley standing over him with her mallet slung over her shoulder. "It'll be you when I'm done with ya."

Harley brought the hammer down on Animal Man's chest causing him to cry out in pain and began repeating this pattern. The poison that Ivy had put in his body previously kept Buddy from fighting back too much. His hand shaking, Animal Man grabbed Harley by the ankle and pulled. Harley toppled over forward and crashed into the water.

Animal Man and Harley Quinn both stood up from the water both taking some caution.

"It's not gonna be that easy." Animal Man tried to sound as tough as he could in his weakened state. On the inside, he felt like he was about to fall to pieces.

"That's fine, I love me a challenge." Harley grabbed her hammer and looked over at Animal Man. "I got a feelin' this is gonna be fun."

 

Poison Ivy followed her targets through the pathways of the zoo. No matter how much the Baker family ran or took turns they thought would be unexpected, Ivy was right behind them. They ran out of places to run when they were between two buildings and a massive wall of thick vines erupted from the ground, trapping them. The three Bakers turned around to see Poison Ivy calmly strolling towards them. Maxine and Cliff clustered together with Ellen.

"Mom, are we gonna die?" Cliff asked.

"I don't wanna die!" Maxine exclaimed in fear

"We'll make it out of this, don't worry." Ellen looked down at her kids in reassurance. "Your dad's gonna stop the bad guys."

"Listen to your mother, it'll be just fine." Ivy drew closer to the Baker family.

The family backed themselves up against the wall of plants. This proved to be a mistake when vines came out of the wall and coiled around the three of them, holding them in place.

"You all may be part of the problem destroying this planet, but I have to admit, I have a soft spot for family." Poison Ivy stopped in front of the family and carefully inspected the three of them. "I'll try not to hurt you too much."

"Get away from us!" Ellen screamed.

"Mommy…" Maxine trailed off. "I don't think it's going to be okay."

"You all seem stressed, I bet a nap sounds pretty good right now." Ivy waved a hand in front of their faces and a cloud of pollen was released from her pores.

The pollen sent Cliff and Maxine to sleep but Ellen had the foresight to start holding her breath after Ivy said "Nap" which kept the poison from entering her system.

Ivy took notice of Ellen's consciousness. "Hmm, looks like I'll have to use the hands-on approach for you."

The vines around Ellen loosened just slightly and Ivy grabbed the sides of her face. Ellen tried to pry herself free as Ivy brought their faces closer.

"It's nothing personal, you're just in the way." Ivy pulled Ellen just inches away from her face.

Ellen broke one of her arms out from the tangle of vines and used her newfound freedom to slap Ivy across the face. For a moment, Poison Ivy was stunned but that quickly became mild annoyance.

"Fine, we're doing this the painful way." Ivy rubbed the red spot on her cheek.

"Did you say painf-" Ellen's question turned into a scream when the vines tightened around her again and held her against the wall of vines. As she screamed Ivy released another cloud of pollen that Ellen breathed in this time, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.

"That took longer than I'd like." Ivy observed her three sleeping hostages for a moment. "I wonder how Harley's doing?"

 

Harley Quinn frantically swung her hammer around trying to hit Animal Man again. He seemed to have recovered just slightly and was hovering around just a few feet away from Harley. Close enough for her to hit him, but with enough time to move before the impact.

"Quit movin' so much!" Harley swung and missed again. "And try ta hit me!"

"Don't want to. I'm still feeling a little light-headed from when your friend tried to kiss me." Animal Man dodged another attack from the mallet and flew to behind Harley. "But I am feeling well enough to wear you down."

The pattern of swinging and dodging kept up for several more minutes. Harley was not the type to get frustrated. But as Animal Man continued to evade her and she became more exhausted she couldn't help but wish for the whole thing to be over. "C'mon bucko, just give up and make this easy for me!"

"Sorry, but I can keep this up all-" Animal Man was in the process of flying a few feet higher when all of a sudden he couldn't feel his connection to the birds anymore. He fell down into the shallow waters below, landing flat on his back. "Ugh… Has it been half-an-hour already?"

"Nighty night, Animal Man." Harley Quinn brought her mallet down onto Animal Man's face. This was enough to render Buddy unconscious.

Harley stared down at Animal Man's body for a few moments to make sure he was dead, even lightly kicking him a few times.

"Hey Harl, how are things down there?"

Harley looked up and saw Ivy looking down into the flamingo enclosure. "Hey ya, Red. Just took care of A-Man." she went to the edge of the enclosure and climbed up back onto the main path. "So, you finish your job?"

"Yep, his family's all tied up right now."

"In that case, let's get the hell outta here." Harley climbed up out of the habitat completely. "I've had enough 'a this zoo to last a lifetime."

"Not so fast, I've got plans for our little friend down there." Ivy focused her vision down at Animal Man's unconscious body.

"Whatta you talkin' about, Red? I knocked his lights out, that means we can slip away before he gets up and nobody has to get hurt anymore. Right?" Harley inquisitively tilted her head at Ivy.

"Animal Man is weak. He has the same motives as me but doesn't have the guts to do what I do." Ivy didn't look at Harley as she spoke. "So, I'm going to teach him a lesson about what it means to care about the Earth."

"Red… Ya ain't soundin' like yourself again. Wanna get some cotton candy again?"

"I haven't been feeling well lately, Harl." Ivy kept herself fixated on Buddy. "But right now, I think I know what can help."

"If it makes you happy, I guess I'll help ya out…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellen's line about Mirror Master refers to the events of "Animal Man #8" where Mirror Master invaded the Baker household and she helped Buddy fight him off. Animal Man's line about the fox hunt is a reference to "Animal Man #10" where Buddy helped stop a fox hunt early on in the issue.


	4. Zoology 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poison Ivy has Animal Man trapped and is ready to kill him. But Harley Quinn is having doubts about this plan. How will Animal Man escape? And what will Harley and Ivy do next?

The Baker family remained unconscious for a while after Harley and Ivy had captured them which was fortunate for the two villainesses. Under Ivy's instructions, with some additional input from Harley, all four Bakers had been moved to a new section of the zoo. Maxine, Cliff, and Ellen were tangled up in vines against the wall of a small concession stand. Buddy dangled upside down wrapped in vines over a hyena habitat. The choice in animal was of course Harley's idea. Ivy and Harley observed their work closely as they waited for Animal Man to wake up. In the time they had taken to move the Baker family, Ivy had also changed from her street clothes to something that fit her current position better. It was a leotard made of leaves like she usually wore when fighting superheroes.

"I dunno, Red. I just ain't feelin' it." Harley's head swivelled back and forth between Animal Man and the hero's family. "Can't we just get outta here, go to some other city? We can even go back to Gotham if ya want."

"I want Animal Man to know what I'm all about." Ivy smiled up at the unconscious superhero. "This zoo is just the beginning, Harley. One day, everything will look like this and there will be no pathetic, callous humans to ruin it. Only me, the plants, and the animals."

"But Red, I'm a human. And I don't want everything to look like this. Don'cha like me, Red?" Harley looked at Ivy and smiled.

"Of course I like you, Harley. It's the rest of you humans I hate." Ivy tried her best to make the words she said sound kind.

"I know yer still a human, Red. C'mon, just give up this whole 'I wanna kill everything' thing ya got goin' on and go home."

"I… I'm sorry Harley, I need this." Ivy looked back at Animal Man. "I've been seen a lot more of the planet in the past several days than I ever wanted to and too much of Earth's beauty has been destroyed… I've been going through something and this will make it better."

"If ya really think so, Red. I'll listen to ya. What's the plan again?"

"Hold on a minute Harl, I think he's waking up."

Buddy Baker's eyes fluttered open and he tried to move his body but found that he was ensnared in vines yet again. He tried to rip through him as he did before but found that his elephant strength had faded away just like his bird flight.

"How long have I been out?" Animal Man looked at his surroundings and the first thing he noticed was his tied up family. Then he noticed Ivy and Harley looking over him from the sides.

"Oh good, you're awake." Ivy remarked. "You have potential, Animal Man. But you're too soft. You'd never use your powers to do the things I'd do. It's a shame, you could've been a great ally."

"Red, you're goin' overboard with the evil soundin' stuff." Harley whispered to her companion.

"Harley, I like you, but please don't interrupt right now." Ivy looked back at Animal Man. "Now, I'm going to let these hyenas have some fun with you. And if you survive, I want you to tell any other environmentalist friends of yours that this is what happens to people who don't do things my way."

"You two realize hyenas are scavengers, right?" As soon as Animal Man said this there was a pause between the three people. He decided to continue talking. "And even if they weren't, the zoo keeps them well fed enough to not want to eat me."

The silence continued for a little for a little while longer but Ivy was eventually the first to break it. "Damn, I knew something sounded off about this plan."

"But my hyenas attack people all the time." Harley argued. "What about them?"

"I think the Joker trained them to do that." Ivy said. "He took something from the wild and made it something it's not. Just like this zoo. Well, we'll think of some other way to deal with you. Hmm… Where's the nearest fish habitat? Maybe we could drown him?"

"Listen, Red, I know I'm soundin' like a broken record but can't we just leave?" Harley put a hand on Ivy's shoulder and tried to shake her just a little. "We can find a nice hotel a couple states over, maybe go to some museums you like, and I'll even let'cha have the shower to yourself. That sounds nice, right? Is this really what'cha want?"

"Of course it is." Ivy fixated her sights back on the trapped Animal Man again. "Taking down a hero like Animal Man will send a message to Batman and anyone else who thinks my botanical revolution isn't just a pipe dream. This zoo is just the first step, next I want to-"

Ivy stopped herself from talking further when she felt Harley pull her into another embrace. "C'mon, Red, please, please, please just go… I know ya don't like sayin' no to me."

"No, I feel like I'm about to get somewhere. My revolution against the human race has begun."

"Yer actin' silly. I know yer a big softie deep down. At least when I'm with ya. Ya don't wanna leave those kids over there without a dad, do ya?"

Ivy turned her attention to where Maxine and Cliff were tied up and then back to Animal Man. "I… I'm not sure. Just give me a minute."

Harley non-aggressively shook Ivy, mostly out of anxiousness. "Pamela, please… I wanna go..."

"You're right, I can't say no to you. Let's leave." Ivy looked up from Harley and back to Buddy. "Well Animal Man, it's been quite the day for both of us. I'll let the police let you down. Me and Harley have some personal business to get back to. We're gonna keep our road trip going. So good luck catching up."

"Actually, I think the only place you'll be going is prison." Animal Man stated with an extreme amount of confidence for a man being suspended upside down.

"What makes you say-" Ivy's question became a shocked silence when the vines around Buddy uncoiled on their own and the hero flipped over, hovering in midair. "No! What?! How!?"

"While you two were having your heart-to-heart I absorbed my flying abilities again." Animal Man hovered closer to the two supervillains as he talked. "And as for the plants, humans are part of the animal kingdom too. Even whatever type of plant-human hybrid you are, Poison Ivy. Took a little bit to get a hang of the plant control thing but your talk gave me enough time to figure it out."

"You stole my powers… Harley, let's teach this guy a-" Ivy realized Harley was not standing next to her anymore. She turned around and saw Harley scurrying away from the area. "Harley, come back! We're supposed to be a team!"

"Love ya Red, but I'm just sick 'a this animal guy!" Harley shouted back. "I'm gonna go find the car and yer comin' with me!"

Ivy looked back and forth between Harley and Buddy for a few seconds, still stunned at the events that had just transpired. "Harley, wait for me!" she turned around and hurried after Harley.

"All right Buddy, let's see if this is easier now." Animal Man said to himself. He looked over at his unconscious family for a few moments. "I have to go back for them later, I can't let those two get away."

Animal Man flew off in the direction Ivy and Harley ran. He looked around the plant ridden zoo from above in search of the two women. While patrolling for them, he spotted a few more animals that had escaped from their cages and made a mental note to help clean up the zoo once Harley and Ivy were captured.

He flew higher into the sky and more of the zoo became visible to him. From his new vantage point, Animal Man surveyed the ground. Most of the landscape was overrun with plants and dotted with the occasional escaped animal. But soon enough he saw two human-shaped figures running alongside each other. "There they are."

Buddy focused as much as he could on the two escaping dots and flew towards them. Feeling the need to go faster, he borrowed some speed from an animal down below. He didn't have time to register which animal it was but vaguely felt it was some type of herbivore. With his newfound speed, he gained on Harley and Ivy at a rapid pace. In fact, it wasn't that long until he started hearing their voices. Albeit at a muffled, lower volume.

"Ya gonna be okay, Pammy?"

"I've been having a confusing… How long have we been out of Gotham?"

"I dunno, a week?"

"In that case Harl, I've been having a confusing week."

"Uh oh Red, incoming!"

Animal Man landed himself in front of the women which made them stop just a few feet away from him. "Okay you two, this is where our story ends."

"Sorry A-Man, we ain't through just yet." Harley took a few steps towards Animal Ma while she twirled her mallet. "Now smile and say 'Hammer Time'!"

She ran forwards with her hammer raised and struck Animal Man in side of the body with it. He was sent tumbling to the ground and slid a few few feet.

"You got a good arm there. Ever play baseball?" Buddy stood up from the ground. "In fact, let me get a better look at that."

Buddy made an upwards motion with his hand and a vine shot out through the concrete path. The vine wrapped around Harley's hammer and pulled it out of her hand over to Animal Man. "You won't be getting this back by the way."

The grip around the mallet strengthened, splitting the weapon in half. "My favourite hammer! That's it, now I'm gonna break yer nose. Red, help me out here."

"Gladly." Ivy walked closer to Animal Man along with Harley.

"You know Poison Ivy, this power of yours is pretty interesting." Animal Man said as another several twisted masses of vines came out of the ground. The vines shot forward at the two villainesses.

Harley countered the plants that were directed at her with her bare hands, ripping and tearing away at the attacking appendages. Ivy, on the other hand, didn't attempt to fight back against the vines. The first vine rammed into her face and sent her flying several feet back through the air.

"Ivy! C'mon, I know yer tougher than this!" Harley continued to fight the vines as she encouraged Poison Ivy.

"I can't do this… I can't fight another plant…" Ivy stared at the vines Animal Man controlled as they went towards her.

"Oh, uh, forgot you can kinda feel their pain for a moment…" Harley stopped herself from fighting the plants. The vines wrapped around her arms and legs, leaving her restrained.

"It's strange actually, I can't actually feel what you've been doing to the plants… Physically anyway." Ivy got to her feet and stared at the advancing vines.

"Wait, what?" Harley tried to turn her head to look at Poison Ivy but found she was unable to when more plants began restraining her.

"I don't want to hurt the plans… But that doesn't mean I can't control them." Ivy smirked and held a hand out in front of her as Animal Man's vines shot towards her. But then something strange happened to Ivy; something that she had never felt before. For once in her life, the plants in front of her were just plants. She didn't feel the spiritual connection to them she normally did. No matter how much she wanted the plants to change course and strangle Animal Man, they just kept coming towards her.

But despite the spiritual connection being gone, the emotional connection hadn't left. Even with the threat of imprisonment right in front of her, Poison Ivy couldn't bring herself to hurt part of nature. While in the process of coming up with another way out of her current predicament, Poison Ivy became tangled up in Animal Man's vines.

"So, are you two ready to give up?" Buddy slowly walked up to the two trapped villains.

"God… This is humiliating..."

"I think that's Red's way of sayin' yes."

 

Once Animal Man was sure Harley and Ivy were trapped by the vines, with the former unable to escape and the latter unwilling to, he left them where they were while he went to find his family. He freed them with no trouble but their reunion was short when he remembered that his powers had a time limit.

But after turning Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn over to the authorities he had time to talk to his family properly. The four Bakers watched as Ivy and Harley were escorted into a police van.

"Do you think they're ever gonna come back here, daddy?" Maxine looked from the two supervillains up to his father.

"For our sake, I hope they stay in Gotham." Animal Man said. "Are you all going to be okay? It must've been pretty scary back there."

"My friends are totally gonna think I'm cool when I tell them about this." Cliff replied.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I've kinda gotten used to being in peril. Guess it's just a hazard of marrying a superhero." Ellen then lowered her voice to a whisper and spoke only to Buddy. "Plus we've been taking Maxine and Cliff to therapy ever since the kitten incident, remember?"

"Oh, right." Buddy whispered back. He raised his voice to a normal tone again to address his whole family. "You all get back home, okay. I'm gonna help put the animals back where they belong and clean up the plants. Don't worry, I should be home in time for dinner tonight."

"Good luck, Buddy." Ellen gave her attention to Maxine and Cliff. "C'mon kids, let's go home."

Ellen, Maxine, and Cliff began walking away from Buddy. He watched them leave just to make sure nothing else would happen to them. Once he was sure there weren't any last minute supervillains, Animal Man turned around and went up to the van Ivy and Harley had just been loaded into.

"Mind if I have a word with these two before you send them back to Gotham?" Buddy addressed an officer near the van.

"Sure thing, Animal Man. Couldn't have caught them without you." replied the cop.

"Thanks, it'll only be a second." Animal Man went to the back of the van and opened up the door. He looked at the interior of the vehicle where the two women had been seated. Harley still somehow had a happy look on her face.

"Well hey ya, A-Man. Didja miss us already?" Harley smiled up at him.

"Are you here to taunt us or something?" Ivy glared at Animal Man. "I didn't take you for that type of hero."

"Look, uh, your real name's Pam, right?" Animal Man lifted up his goggles to better look Ivy in the eye.

"Yeah, why do you wanna know?"

"Listen, Pam, I know you just tried to kill me, but the thing is we agree on a lot of stuff. You're right, humans have destroyed a lot of this planet. But you could help. Your powers could be used to regrow devastated forests or help combat climate change. All this destruction you caused today, it doesn't help."

"Don't talk down to me like I'm a child." Ivy snarled. "I'm an adult who can make her own decisions. Trust me, Animal Man. I know what I'm doing. And when I have things my way, the planet will be beautiful again."

"Can't say I didn't try." Animal Man turned from Ivy over to Harley Quinn. "You make sure she doesn't do anything like this again. Oh, and by the way, I'm still kinda pissed at you for dragging my family into this."

"Well, I'm pissed that ya broke my favourite hammer. So call it even I guess." Harley grinned back.

Animal Man began to close the van's door but was interrupted by Poison Ivy. "Hold on, there's one thing I want to know. I wasn't able to feel the plants you had control over. Why was that?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Animal Man scratched his chin and stared off into space, thinking of an answer. "Well, my guess is that when I controlled plants they became part of the Red instead of the Green."

"The what and the what?"

"Sorry Pam, you'll have to figure that out on your own. And if you see Batman, tell him I said hi." Animal Man shut the doors completely and went back to the officer. "They're all yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I've still got a lot of cleaning up to do."

 

The transportation back to Arkham Asylum from San Diego was uneventful as were the weeks that followed. Poison Ivy had no desire to escape at the moment and in fact, welcomed the downtime. After the stressful road trip and fight at the zoo, it seemed almost relaxing despite the dreary conditions of the asylum.

But one thing that she kept thinking of was Animal Man's mention of the enigmatic "Red" and "Green". So during one of her therapy sessions, she decided to see if her psychiatrist wasn't as dumb as he looked. The man who had been assigned as her new therapist was one Dr. Roger Huntoon. A pudgy, middle-aged, bespectacled fellow that, like most humans, Poison Ivy disliked immensely.

"Ms. Isley, I think we're making progress today." Dr. Huntoon's words were lost on Ivy who hadn't been listening to a word he said since the session started. "You seem to have mellowed out since you've arrived and there haven't been any violent outbursts. Do you have anything you'd like to say?"

"Tell me doctor, do you know anything about 'The Green' or 'The Red'." Ivy kept her gaze set on the ceiling as she spoke in an attempt to make things seem more casual. "Animal Man mentioned them back in San Diego and they sound… Important."

"I don't see how this in related to our discussion."

"Come on doctor, you said I'm making progress… I deserve some answers…" Ivy stood up from the chair and leaned over Dr. Huntoon's desk. She exhaled a small cloud of spores onto the psychiatrist. Not enough to kill or incapacitate him, but enough to make his mind a lot more suggestible. "Go on… You can tell me…"

Dr. Huntoon's eyes had taken on a hazy, glazed quality but he spoke as if nothing had changed. "I don't know much about the Green. I'm a psychiatrist, not a sorcerer."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There was another patient here a while ago, in several of our sessions he referenced some type of mystic sounding energy called 'The Green' that connected all plant life. He never said anything about this 'Red' you mentioned though."

"Interesting... And what was this patient's name?"

"His name was Jason Woodrue, he called himself the Floronic Man."

Ivy's mood changed from seduction to anger as her hand clamped around Dr. Huntoon's throat. "Write this down in your notes, Huntoon! Don't mention that man around me."

"Guards… Guards!" Dr. Huntoon was able to croak out.

Just as two Arkham security guards rushed into the room Ivy let go of Dr. Huntoon. "I'm terribly sorry about that, he just brought up a sore subject is all. What do you think, doctor? Should we call it off early today?"

"Y-yes…" Dr. Huntoon rubbed the now slightly reddened area of his neck.

Ivy didn't seem upset as the security guards ushered her out of Dr. Huntoon's office. Her mind was too busy processing the new information she'd been given.

 

The time that followed Harley Quinn's arrest and subsequent confinement to Arkham wasn't all that bad. It wasn't fun to be back in Arkham Asylum but she figured with their track record she'd be back on the outside within a couple months. Not to mention she took comfort in the fact that Poison Ivy was in there with her.

Her days had a certain structure to them that Harley liked to follow. She'd gotten to the part of the day after her ineffective therapy session where she went to the Arkham rec room and watch TV. The Riddler was on the couch when Harley got there but she found it easy enough to kick him off. She flipped through the channels until she found a cartoon program to watch.

Harley stayed on the couch watching the show for a little while without much interruption. The first thing to distract her from the show was Poison Ivy sitting down next to her.

"Well hey ya, Red. What's up?" Harley turned off the television and readjusted her position on the couch to talk to Ivy better.

"A mixed bag." Ivy relaxed her posture against the couch. "I got some of my good behavior privileges taken away for attacking my doctor."

"Why'd ya do that?" Harley asked.

"He made me angry." Ivy's tone seemed too calm for the subject matter but despite this it got a chuckle out of Harley.

"Nice one, Pam."

"I've got some good news though. I have a lead on the Green."

Harley smiled up at Ivy but didn't say anything. In fact, she looked slightly confused.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Yep, ain't got a clue."

"Well, I'm not too sure yet either. Basically, the Green is apparently the source of my powers. And the only person who might know more about it just happens to be the man I hate most in the world."

Harley hesitated for a moment but decided to speak. "Why would Mista J know 'bout your powers?"

"No Harl, there's someone I hate more than him."

"Ooh, this guy's gotta be real bad. Where can we find him?"

"Not sure. We'd probably have to go on another road trip. I bet you'd like that." Ivy grinned at Harley.

"Sure would, Red."

Despite her current incarceration, Harley Quinn was convinced that she lived a great life and looked forward to any further escapades she and Poison Ivy were involved in.

 

In the days following the aftermath of the events of the incident at the San Diego Zoo, things got back to normal for the Baker family. Well, as normal as things could be after you were held captive by a supervillain. Maxine had been a bit nervous around the flower beds outside their house at first but got over it pretty fast. Ellen had seemed a bit shaken at first but resumed as normal soon. What she said about getting used to peril appeared to be true. Cliff ended up being the least affected of the three other Bakers. In fact, Buddy had overheard Cliff talking on the phone with a friend of his about how he met a, in his words, "Super hot plant lady".

Indeed things went back to uneventful family life in the following days. Buddy had barely thought about his superhero life. But one morning he was given another big reminder of his hero status. It all started with Ellen shaking him awake.

Oh, Buddy… C'mon, it's time to get up."

Buddy awoke from his sleep and saw Ellen standing over their bed. The sun had come up and Ellen had already gotten dressed. "Jeez, what time is it?"

"Ten fifteen. Kids are already at school. I love you Buddy but you gotta learn to get up earlier."

"So did I miss anything while I was asleep?" Buddy sat up fully in bed and his vision cleared to let him see his wife better.

"Well, the mail's here. This one's for you." Ellen handed off an envelope to Buddy. "It looks important."

"I'll read it after I get some breakfast." Buddy placed the envelope on his bedside end table.

"All right, but just to let you know the return address said 'The Hall of Justice' on it. I'll see you downstairs in a minute, Buddy." Ellen turned around and left the bedroom.

"So it's from the Justice League, eh?" Buddy stood up from the bed and grabbed the note off the end table. He opened it up and read over the letter.

The first thing that caught his eye was that it was signed "Batman" but he got over that surprise pretty quickly. The note was short. to the point, and used very formal language which Buddy admitted seemed about what he expected from the Dark Knight. It was a letter of congratulations regarding his handling of the situation with Harley and Ivy back at the zoo.

But the last thing that took Buddy's attention was something written right below the signature. On close inspection, it appeared to be instructions on how to contact Batman on his computer. It looked surprisingly easier than one might think.

"Hmmm… Was not expecting that."

Buddy put the letter back down on the end table. He went about his usual morning routine of showering and throwing on some clothes. As Buddy prepared to go downstairs his mind wandered back to the very end of the letter he received.

"Ellen, I'll be down in just a second! I just need to use the computer real quick!"

"I'll start you a coffee! Seriously Buddy, you need to start getting up earlier!"

Buddy laughed internally and went back to his room. After searching around for a bit, he found his and Ellen's shared laptop. He set up the laptop on a desk and fetched the letter he'd received from Batman. The instructions to video chatting with Batman were pretty much the same as you'd follow for calling anybody else. Still, Buddy felt special for being included on the list of people Batman let contact him.

Pretty soon, there was a series of spinning dots on the laptop screen with the words "Connecting…" right below. It only took about fifteen seconds before the connection to the other end was fully established.

The image on the monitor then changed to show the one and only Batman sat at a large chair in what appeared to be a large, empty cavern. In the background, there were several large objects obscured by shadows.

"Ah, Baker, I didn't expect you to call so soon. Sorry if I seem distracted, the Scarecrow's back in town."

"Hey Batman, I got your letter. Figured I might as well see if it was real. I, uh… I didn't expect you to live in a cave."

"Some people are a little thrown off at first. It's a lot nicer in person."

Buddy adjusted his chair and made the decision to change the topic. "So, um, why exactly did you send me the letter?"

"I try to keep in contact with other superheroes. You were just someone who I hadn't gotten to yet and the incident at the zoo was just a reminder." as Batman spoke he appeared to be typing something into a keyboard in front of him. "Do you have anything else you'd like to talk about? I'm a little busy right now."

Buddy took the question into consideration for a moment and a question popped into his head. "Batman, I'm curious, do you ever feel bad for the people you fight?"

"Usually, no. Monsters like the Joker or Victor Zsasz put innocent lives in jeopardy whenever they're out on the streets. However… There are some exceptions. What made you ask?"

"I saw a lot of myself in Poison Ivy. We both believe in the same noble cause for one thing. And another thing, for all her talk of anti-human genocide she seemed close with that other woman. They switched back and forth between being supervillains and best friends so fast it was strange."

"I tend not to get too involved in the personal lives of my adversaries. It complicates things when I have to bring them to justice." Batman had stopped typing on his computer at this point.

"The thing I wanna know is, if I ever see Poison Ivy again, should I try to get to know her?"

"I wouldn't recommend it. But if you think you can make a difference, you can always try."

"Thanks. Well, I'd best be off. My wife's waiting for me downstairs." Buddy began to stand up from the desk.

"Of course. Tell Ellen I said hello."

"Will do, Batman." Buddy disconnected from the chat and closed the laptop. "Time to go get some coffee."

Buddy left the bedroom and started walking down the stairs, ready to face a day that hopefully wouldn't have any supervillains in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The doctor Ivy talked to at the end was a character introduced in Swamp Thing but also made some appearances in the Animal Man comics too. So I figured I'd include him here.

**Author's Note:**

> Animal Man's one line about B'wana Beast is a reference to the events of "Animal Man #4".


End file.
